[ SHOWGSD-L ] MAINE-- Puppy mill bills flawed, breeders say
- From: Stormy435@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:40:03 EST
Puppy mill bills flawed, breeders say
By Sharon Kiley Mack
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine â?? A pair of controversial bills that would place additional
requirements on dog breeders drew a large crowd Monday before the
Legislatureâ??s
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Dog breeders were united in their support for the billsâ?? intent â?? safe,
ethical breeding standards â?? but united in their opposition of the details on
how
to get there.
LDs 2010 and 2171 were brought forth by the Animal Welfare Division of the
Maine Department of Agriculture with the goal of eliminating or helping to
curtail puppy mills.
The billâ??s sponsor, state Rep. Benjamin Pratt, D-Eddington, said Monday in a
prepared statement the bill was intended as much to protect and ensure the
safe breeding of dogs as to protect consumers. Dogs raised in puppy mills often
require serious and expensive medical treatment and have shortened life spans,
Pratt said.
The bills would create a voluntary certification program that consumers could
identify with.
"This sort of program would help to support the vast majority of caring,
ethical and honest breeders in our state and expose those few individuals who
would bring a bad name to the industry," Pratt said.
But Nola Soper of the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs, who has been raising
dogs for 40 years, said the bills would do nothing to prevent puppy mills from
operating. In essence, she said, the bills would penalize responsible breeders
for the actions of puppy mill operators, while doing nothing to curtail such
mills.
She said new fees and complicated regulations would drive all responsible
breeders out of the business, "but you will still have puppy mills because
customers will still line up for dogs."
Soper said the stateâ??s dog organizations wholeheartedly support Pratt and
others in creating a task force that could develop an ethical and humane
breeding
standard and certification program.
"What we object to is legislation that is so detailed that it tells us what
size water bowl to use," Soper said.
Other issues dog breeders have with the proposals include a regulatory change
to require puppies get a rabies vaccination at 3 months rather than 6 months
of age.
Soper said that the numbers used to describe breeders â?? anyone having five or
more dogs capable of breeding â?? wonâ??t solve the major problem of "backyard
breeders" operating in Maine.
"Most backyard breeders have only two to four breeding dogs, and they breed
them to death," she said. "They wonâ??t even be impacted by these new
regulations, and they are the real issue.
"Thatâ??s the problem," she said. "Reputable breeders will get more
regulations, more fees, and puppy mills will continue to behave the way they
have always
done.
"We all want safe and ethical breeding standards," Soper said. "How we get
there is the problem."
Pratt said he believes the certification program would provide a boost to
Maine breeders because consumers would be inclined to buy a pet from a
certified
breeder, as opposed to an animal from a disreputable or unknown, out-of-state
breeder.
No date has been set for a work session on the bills.
bdnpittsfield@xxxxxxxxxxx
487-3187
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